Desires of the Heart
by conventgirlvampire
Summary: Zero is dead and Yuuki has been captured by Riido after shooting him. Her only comfort left is Ichijou, but is he enough?
1. Chapter 1

**Desires of the Heart**

A/N: This is my first fanfic. The first chapter is comparatively short to what I wanted it to be but I thought that this would work as well. I'm not really sure about the pairing yet but I do know that it'll include Yuuki. Please review.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not my property. It belongs, in its entirety, to Matsuri Hino. I just wish that I could own some of its characters.

"_Drink… Drink and let the pain go away…"_

The words echoed in her mind, a silent reminder of what she truly was. Humanity was a part of her past now, large and distant. She no longer needed it, no longer needed to care if anyone felt left or if she was excluded. Her new life was still like that – cliques of nobles gathering together, too weak to get what they wanted by themselves – but she did not have to care about those things anymore. They were trivial matters that could be taken care of by someone else, anyone else. She was a pureblood, after all, and the vampire community would be more than willing to follow her into death.

"Yuuki," Ichijou said as he entered the room. His voice had that slight awe to it that was in everyone else's whenever they said her name. She flinched when she heard it.

"What do you want?" Her voice was curt and sharp, not the usual cheery and respectful thing that it was before.

"Are you hungry? Or is it something else?" He had noticed her brooding mood and did not seem to want to let her wallow in it.

She did care though. She cared enough to know that things were not well at the academy. She saw the way Ichijou looked whenever his grandfather found him with her. It was like looking at a slave who hated his master but could not do anything about it. He did not want to betray Kaname – to betray her and the others – but he had to. If he spoke against Ichiou – or any Council member, for that matter – he would lose everything. From listening to him for hours in her forced confinement, Yuuki knew that Ichijou did not care about the money, only his family. She was not sure but she thought she could trust him. With that easy demeanor of his, it was hard to tell.

"No."

"How about some company?"

"If you want to stay, you can." He sat down and waited. It was strange, having him here when all she wanted was to be in Kaname's arms again, or even Zero's. She wanted to escape from this dull prison of a room, wanted to feel Kaname's warmth. She would take Ichijou with her too. Even if he was following the enemy he did not deserve to be here, did not want to be here. He hated it here – more like he hated the people here, actually – and she did not want him to suffer.

"He wants to see you."

"I don't want to see him."

"He won't accept that."

"He'll have to. I'm _not_ going to see him."

"Yuuki, he won't be this polite for much longer. The next time he might just force you to come to him."

"Let him. I won't go."

"I – I have to go. Same time tomorrow, then?"

She nodded briefly and turned back to the window. She did not want trouble for him but she would not go to that man. It was bad enough that he was her enemy, but he had asked her to join him before – as his _wife_. The thought of marrying him sent chills down her spine every time it entered her head. He was the one who had killed her parents, who had robbed her of ten years of happiness with her brother. She would never forgive him for that, much less marry him.

Ichijou groaned in exasperation. She was really a pain sometimes. He did not want anything to happen to her. Yuuki was a nice girl and he had become friends with her during her imprisonment. He could see that something was bothering he. She would never say what it was but he knew.

"Kaname."

The name came to his lips easily. How could he have missed it? The girl was obviously in love with him, even before she had regained her memories. He should have known that Kaname would be the answer to his problem. He always was before, so why not now? He would have to act fast though. If anyone knew what he was going to do then he was in trouble.

"Ichijou-sempai!"

Ah, a human girl. How silly of him to forget that walking out of Riido's headquarters – set up in the old temporary Night Dorm – in the middle of the day would bring him to the attention of the girls of the Day Class. He sprinted across the lawn and into the main school building. After he had closed the doors he barely noticed the others as he sped through the hallway to the Headmaster's office. He hated to rush through the beautiful building but he was not in the mood to humor the humans.

"Takuma Ichijou, grandson of the head of the Council. What brings you here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Desires of the Heart**

**Chapter Two**

A/N: Well, I'm back and I've brought chapter two with me. The pairings are still unsure since this takes place some time after chapter 42. I might get a little carried away with the characters since I'm sure Zero is just being stubborn. Yuuki's not going to be with him though. You'll see why later. Love ya, guys!

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not my property. It belongs, in its entirety, to Matsuri Hino. I just wish that I could own some of its characters (mainly Kaname:P)!

"Takuma Ichijou, grandson of the head of the Council, what brings you here?"

Yagari. So that explained the gun jammed to the side of his head, but the real mystery was who held the sword that pressed against his throat. He sniffed the air and frowned slightly. The scent was familiar, too familiar, and yet somehow wrong. There it was, another mystery to which he had no answers. He inhaled again and then he recognized the difference. It was something that most vampires were wary of and something he had smelt a lot of lately. Hunter's blood.

"Who are you?" he choked. The pressure on his throat was really very unnecessary but he was not about to complain. It might give them an excuse to kill him. Now, that would be messy.

"We asked you first," Yagari growled in a whisper. The man was taking Zero's withdrawal from society well. Any lesser man would have shot him now, but not this Hunter. Ichijou was still alive and lucky to be so. He was glad, at any rate, for that small mercy.

"Answer us and we'll think about allowing you to live."

He had been expecting to hear something like that from Yagari. He had always expected the threats from him. What he did not expect was to hear the words come from headmaster Cross. True, he had known that the man had been a hunter – everyone knew that – but he did not expect him to revert to that nature so quickly. It was almost unheard of. Then again, Hunters who became pacifists with a vision of peace between vampires and humans were almost unheard of too. He would have to be very careful around Cross.

"Don't worry," he said, his eyes pleading and his hands held up in surrender, "I'm not here to attack you or anything like that, I swear. On my life, I swear that I did not come with those intentions."

"And what makes you think that we're willing to believe you?"

Ichijou wanted to scream at the Hunters, to suck them dry for wasting his time with such questions but he had to control his himself. Yuuki would be hurt if he did anything like that. She could be like her brother at such times, caring so much for someone that it hurt her when they got hurt. This would definitely hurt Kiriyuu and he did not want that on his hands. He had to remain calm.

"If you will, can you please move the sword and the gun. I don't think this is the time, not when Yuuki is the person concerned."

Cross lowered his sword immediately but Yagari held his gun in place for a few more moments. When he was satisfied that Ichijou was not going to do anything he stepped away. Ichijou knew better than to assume that he had their full trust but he had no choice. It was now or never.

"I need to find Kaname."

Yagari swore and Cross was preparing to move into position behind him again. He moved closer to the wall and side stepped as Yagari shot at him. He did not expect any other reaction from them. After all, he was working for their enemy.

"Wait! You didn't even hear why!"

"Unless it's your nineteenth birthday next week," the headmaster stated coldly, "and you want him to be there, I don't think we want to know your reasons."

"My nineteenth birthday – in human years anyway – is next week but that's beside the point," he said as he dodged another bullet. Things were starting to get out of hand. This was no time for subtlety. "She misses him."

This stopped the two Hunters momentarily. He knew that they cared about her, even if the headmaster was more flamboyant about it than Yagari. Why else would they want to kill him as soon as he walked through the door? Ichijou was getting bored. If they were not going to do anything more than try to kill him, then why bother going out of his room at all?

"How do you know?" Cross asked suspiciously.

"We talk everyday."

"Everyday?"

"Yeah. Yuuki was…stiff at first, but she grew used to me after a while. I don't think she wants anything from that place that she can't get in our conversations. I get what I want too."

"Her blood?" Yagari asked silently. Ichijou laughed a little to ease the tension that he felt building in the room. This Hunter was one of the best but, sometimes, even he could be funny. It would be worth leaving him alive just for this.

"No," he answered when he could finally speak in whole sentences, "I don't get her blood. I would never even dream of taking it."

"So what do you get?" Cross seemed friendlier, now that he knew that Ichijou, at least, meant no harm to Yuuki.

"I get the pleasure of being with her."

Yuuki stared out the window, her eyes roaming he grounds for any sign of Ichijou. She needed his company now. Riido was on his way – she could hear it – and she did not want to face her uncle alone. More than that, if he did not come back then she would know that she was alone. She would know that no one cared, that no one wanted her. True, she had told Kaname to go without her, but it did not matter. She was alone.

The black feeling descended upon her and she shrank into it. At least now she would not care, could not care about anything outside of herself. She did not want to think, to move or do anything. It was painful to move, painful to think. Curled up in a ball by the window, she decided to just lie there. She would not move unless one of them came back. Kaname, Zero, Ichijou…

"Well, well, well," a deep male voice said from the door, "what do we have here?"


	3. Chapter 3

Desires of the Heart

**Desires of the Heart**

**Chapter Three**

A/N: Sorry that this took so long. I was busy with school and stuff, so I didn't really have the time to write that much. It also took some time to write, for me at least, because I couldn't decide what to do with Yuuki. Everyone knows, by now, that she can take care off herself but the truth is, she's scared and she knows it. Riido's in here as well. Kaname's still not there, though, so even though Ichijou gets help he still has to go find him.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not my property. It belongs, in its entirety, to Matsuri Hino. I just wish that I could own some of its characters (mainly Kaname:P)!

"Well, well, well," a deep male voice said from the door, "what do we have here?"

Yuuki was tired, too tired to do anything but she forced herself to move. She forced herself to look at Riido, to meet his cold, cruel gaze. She forced herself to acknowledge this demon. What was it that Zero had said, _"A beast in human form"_? With Riido it was certainly the truth. He was a beast in human form.

"It seems that the precious daughter that Haruka and Juuri wanted to keep away is now in my hands. I wonder what they would think."

She backed away from him slowly, careful not to let him see what she was doing. Riido looked like _him_, looked like him a lot. It was hard not to keep lingering over certain areas of his body where his clothes revealed more than he intended but she did. She could not let him get to her. Kaname and Zero were depending on her not to give in. She was their only chance at survival now – even if Zero said otherwise.

"What? You don't feel comfortable around me, do you?"

"It's not that," she said so low that, even for a pureblood vampire, he had to strain his ears. "I just don't want to get filthy from touching the likes of you."

Riido was not angered by this. Far from it, he seemed to be amused by her comment. A small smile played on his lips as he paused near the bed, examining the indentation of her body from the previous night.

"I could say the same about your lovers." His voice was smooth silk as he spoke, his two eyes – one crimson, the other blue – danced merrily in the sunset. His eyes moved from the bed to her. As they roved down her slender figure she could feel him silently examining her for flaws, quietly undressing her with his eyes. It was uncomfortable, being under his gaze like that.

She felt that gaze like she felt Kaname's every time he looked at her. It went straight through her, like a knife through water, slicing through every piece of her being. Nothing remained whole for long but neither did it remain separate. His gaze just moved through her.

She had to stop this. Riido may have looked like Kaname but he was not him. He was the enemy, the person who had driven Kaname away from her, caused Zero to hate her. She could not, did not want to give in to him, but it was just too easy to give in. She needed to fight that desire, not surrender.

Ichijou ran through the school, anxious to get back to Yuuki. He had left her for too long while Riido was in the building. There was no way that she would dare to escape but what he would do, Ichijou was not sure. All he knew was that it would not be good. Riido was not, after all, accustomed to being turned down – even if Shizuka Hiou and his sister had done so before.

The two Hunters followed him but he ignored their presence. After he had realized that he had left her alone, Ichijou had run from the office at full speed. It was only natural that they would follow to see what had caused his sudden reaction. At least he was not going to wait for them. That would only slow him down.

It was a matter of minutes before he was racing up stairs and speeding through dusty corridors but he did not dare slow down. Yuuki was Kaname's younger sister and lover. If anything happened to her his anger would be immense. She was also important to Kiriyuu. The young Hunter would kill everyone in sight if she died. More than that, he had grown attached to the little pureblood princess.

He had liked her before she had, to everyone's shock and surprise, been revealed to be a pureblood vampire. She was sweet and cute and, at times, annoyingly oblivious to the world, especially when she was with Kaname. Then she had regained her memories and everything had changed. She was still sweet and cute but there was something more now, something that he could not define. He was attracted to her even more because of that indefinable something and he was not sure how he felt about it.

He burst into her room noisily, only to see Riido near enough to reach out and touch a strangely silent Yuuki. She was just standing there, her gaze locked on Riido's. Two purebloods, two strong wills trying to force the other to surrender. The air itself was shaking with the power emanating from them. He could feel it, sense the pure energy coming from them.

Yuuki seemed to sense his presence, because her gazed moved slightly to him. She nodded once and returned to the contest of wills that was going on before him. It was enough for him to understand that he could not disrupt this, or something might go wrong.

Ichijou. What was he doing here? He had disappeared before, so why come back now?

"You will give in," Riido hissed moving closer still. "Unlike your mother, you have no one to take you away from me. Kaname is gone and that Hunter of yours wants nothing to do with you. Why struggle against it? Just save us the trouble and accept your fate."

"Never," she replied and threw herself at Ichijou. He stumbled with her weight but, as she had hoped, he was ready for this. He grabbed her hand and ran. Riido would have chased after them but she did not care. All that mattered now was getting out of there.

Headmaster Cross and Yagari were waiting for them outside. Ichijou handed her to Yagari who gripped her arm tightly as they made their way to the school. Riido would follow them but he would not be able to get past the wards on the school's buildings once they were activated. She was depending on that fact.

"Are you okay?" Cross asked as they walked. She did not answer him.

"Kid," Yagari began a while later, "are you alright or aren't you?"

She did not answer him either.

"Yuuki," Ichijou asked softly when they had finally reached the Moon Dormitory, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she lied. The truth was, she was far from being fine. Riido had invaded her in more ways than one and she was not happy about that. Apart from being her uncle, he had virtually destroyed her family, leaving only her and Kaname as survivors. It was wrong to feel alright after that and she was not alright anyway.

The world before her spun as Ichijou opened the door for her. Then, as she listened to the others making plans for the rest of the day everything suddenly became dark and she fell.


	4. Chapter 4

Desires of the Heart

**Desires of the Heart**

**Chapter Four**

A/N: I really didn't know what to do with this chapter, especially since scanlations for chapter 43 came out while I was writing it so it's kind of lame compared to the others. I won't adapt to follow the plotline, though. It's too much of a KanamexYuukixZero love triangle for this story. While I am a diehard KanamexYuuki otaku I also like the IchijouxYuuki pairing I created in Desires.

A/N2: Chapter five might have some reason to be rated M, but I'm not sure. Also depends on my mood after Vampire Knight Guilty episode one.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not my property. It belongs, in its entirety, to Matsuri Hino. I just wish that I could own some of its characters (mainly Kaname:P)!

Ichijou just sits there, watching her on the bed. She is awake now but her eyes are closed. She does not want anyone to know that she is awake. She does not want _him_ to know that she is awake.

"Yuuki," he says quietly. He touches the bed. "I-I'm sorry. I have to go. Kaname needs me."

"Are you afraid to touch me, Ichijou-san?" she asks as she opens her eyes, unable to avoid him anymore. She speaks formally to get his attention and she does. "Why, Ichijou-san? Why are you afraid to touch my hand?"

He opens his mouth to speak but stops as soon as their hands touch each other. His skin is warm and, surprisingly, rough on the surface of his palm. She likes how it feels, though. She likes its callousness. It makes him appear differently to her.

"I'm not afraid of this," he says, tightening his grip for a moment, "but I am afraid of what I might do."

He leans in as if to kiss her but pulls back at the last moment. She feels him pulling away from her completely. She feels powerless, even as she reaches out for him. It is even worse when he finally turns away from her.

"I'm sorry, Yuuki. Believe me, I really am."

They he was gone.

He can still feel the ghost of her touch lingering on his skin. He still wants to feel it. She was so soft and fragile, her skin unbroken though she was a school prefect. It was so…beautifully magnificent, that touch.

"Where are you going?" Yagari asks, coming up to him. "Yuuki and the rest of the Night Class need you with them."

"Yuuki can handle Riido. I have to see my grandfather."

His vampiric aura flared out around him. Only the Hunter was immune to the warning it gave but he did not really care. He had to get away from her. He had to run before something happened that could ruin an already doomed friendship.

The car was already waiting for him, the sun shining down on its black metallic frame. The driver was a complete stranger but then, so was every other driver the Council had sent for him. It did not matter, though. He would not be driving there this time.

What was she going to do now? Ichijou had left her to herself while he would be out with her brother somewhere near the Council. Kaname she understood. He was more powerful than they were and, at the same, less powerful than their uncle. He had to do something. Ichijou did not need to follow him.

"Yuuki-chan, what's wrong?" Sayori asked. Lately, her friend had been extremely worried about her and she did not like it. She did not want anyone to worry about her.

"I was just thinking about Ichijou-sempai," she said, turning to Yori with a smile. "He said he was going to help onii-sama but, I don't know. I have a bad feeling about all of this."

"Don't worry," Yori tried to reassure her but Yuuki refused to think like that. She somehow knew that Ichijou would not come back as he had left. That was, if he came back at all. She just hoped that he did return.


End file.
